Ballston Spa hosts third film festival

By Nate Hopper Special to the Times Union

Published 1:00 am, Wednesday, August 4, 2010

BALLSTON SPA -- Short films by local high schoolers will be shown alongside the work of filmmakers from around the globe, including some award-winning Australians and Dreamworks animators, at the third annual Ballston Spa Film Festival this weekend.

Forty five pictures, ranging in length up to 15 minutes, will be screened Friday and Saturday in two sets: at 7 p.m. in the Ballston Spa High School auditorium and at 9 p.m. in Wiswall Park, when people are invited to bring their own chairs and blankets to watch beneath the night sky. About nine of the flicks have local ties, according to Daniel DeFabio, a festival organizer and co-founders.

DeFabio, a 42-year-old local filmmaker whose pieces have been broadcast on WMHT, helped found the event after monthly screenings of family films in the park received a positive response from the community. DeFabio said the festival fills a void by presenting films that are not likely to be seen at commercial theaters or on TV.

"It's a great way to expose the community to something that's not really available anywhere else," he said.

The festival, which is free and open to the public, reserves the public park screenings for films that families can go and enjoy. Any films with sexual or violent themes are shown indoors and labeled as intended for mature audiences.

The pictures will be voted on by seven judges. Winners in 11 categories will be announced at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Coffee Planet.

Last year's winner in the Best Animated Film category, "French Roast" by Fabrice Joubert, was nominated for an Academy Award.

"I don't pretend that we contributed to its success -- we were one of many steps -- but it's great that we could show his film before anyone heard he was an Oscar contender," DeFabio said.

Aside from the films, the festival will also hold a seminar on the video editing software Final Cut Pro, led by producers from Your News Now, as well as a talk by judges on the industry at the Brookside Museum. There will also be parties with live local music and a cash bar both nights at 11 p.m.